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Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to Speak at Pepperdine

The Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr., associate justice of the United States, will speak on "Lawyering and the Craft of Judicial Opinion Writing" at the Pepperdine School of Law on Wednesday, July 30, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The session is open to the public and will be especially of interest to members of the judiciary and those in federal practice.

Justice Alito will be joined by The Honorable Michael W. McConnell, United States Appellate Judge for the Tenth Circuit; The Honorable Walter E. Dellinger III, former United States Solicitor General; Pepperdine School of Law dean and former Solicitor General Ken Starr; and Professor Douglas W. Kmiec, former United States Assistant Attorney General (OLC).

The topic of the conversation—judicial opinion writing—is a craft rarely studied comprehensively in law school or in practice despite its importance. According to Kmiec, "This conversation with a distinguished member of the High Court, an acclaimed legal scholar turned appellate judge, and two prominent law teachers, both of whom have represented the United States and private clients, is a unique opportunity to rectify this oversight."

The distinguished speakers will discuss standards of excellence in legal reasoning and how the law's coherence is principally advanced or impeded in opinion writing.

For more information, please visit the Justice Alito Conversation Web site. All are welcome to register and be part of this conversation which seeks to better understand how the Court is perceived by its writing.